Joseph Loring of Sterling, Massachusetts. An inlaid cherry case Massachusetts shelf clock. 213022.
This is a fine inlaid cherry case Massachusetts Shelf Clock with kidney shaped dial made by Joseph Loring of Sterling, Massachusetts.
This fine example stands on simple bracket feet. Their lines continue to the middle of the case and form a nicely shaped apron. The base panel features a horizontally formatted selection of cherry wood that exhibits a subtle grain pattern. It is nicely framed with a delicate line inlay. The hood is surmounted by a wonderful fretwork design. A single-line inlaid finial plinth is centered in this location and supports a decorative cast brass finial. The bonnet or hood door is also lined inlaid on the outside border. The aperture is fitted with glass, and the door opens to access the dial. The paint-decorated dial is iron. It features a time ring that is formatted with Roman numerals and a gilt outer ring. Below this is the signature of the Maker, “Joseph Loring.” This is framed in a raised gesso pattern that is highlighted with gilt paint. Please note the wonderful form of the steel hands. The time-only movement is brass, eight-day duration, and is of good quality. It is powered by a cast iron weight. This clock was made circa 1810 and stands approximately 35.5 inches tall.
Inventory number 213022.
Clockmaker and Chairmaker.
Joseph Loring was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, on July 19, 1768, and died in Sterling, Massachusetts, on January 31, 1846. He was 78 years of age. Joseph is listed in the Sterling town histories as a clockmaker as early as 1792. He also ran a general store located on the corner of Main Street and Kendall Hill Road. This general store was later purchased by the Estabrook family, who continued to operate the business for many years to follow. Joseph is said to have trained Daniel Holmes as a clockmaker, and it appears that he worked for him as a journeyman in 1801 - 1802. Loring's account book covering 1791-1812 is in the Collection at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts. It reveals a variety of activities, including business relationships between Benjamin Willard, Gardner Parker, and Able Stowell.
Joseph Loring made tall case clocks and shelf clocks. He purchased a number of tall clock cases from John Hill of Leominster. We have also seen a Massachusetts shelf clock with a cabinetmaker's label pasted inside the case that reads, "C. Simmons / Cabinetmaker." By the early 1820s, chair production in the town of Sterling took off, and soon 70,000 chairs were made there annually. Loring became very much involved in chair production. By 1845, Joseph's estate near Sterling, MA, contained about 70 acres of first-rate land equally divided into mowing, pasturing, and tillage with a building. The buildings included a large two-story house, a 20 by 30 barn, and two sheds. Water was provided by a never failing spring piped to the house via lead pipes. A chair and paint shop with a small dwelling house was adjoined.
